


Something Rebellious You Don't Understand

by theminiummark



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Case Fic, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-27
Updated: 2017-01-27
Packaged: 2018-09-19 17:46:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9452888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theminiummark/pseuds/theminiummark
Summary: Danny has a bad day. Good thing he has Steve with him, unconscious or not.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from “Collide” by Go Radio. Set sometime in season 7.

Danny tried to catch his breath as he stopped for a long moment, shifting his weight off his bad knee and keeping Steve steady. He had Steve draped across him in a fireman’s carry, which he was sure looked ridiculous as it felt. And Danny knew that Steve was no slouch, but, fuck, he was heavier than he looked. Steve _had_ to have gotten knocked out by his own grenade. These perps were luckier than they appeared. It hadn’t been more than a few hours since he and Steve had received the odd voicemail from Governor Mahoe, which had turned into a trap they had narrowly missed tripping.

They narrowly gained the advantage, getting the Governor free and under cover, when it had all gone to shit. The gang had their own backup, and Steve and Danny only had backup in the form of grenades. The first one Steve lobbed with brutal efficiency was perfect, taking out most of the perps keeping them pinned, but the second had bounced funny, and landed too close for comfort. 

And Steve, being the overprotective man that Danny knew and loved, had dived over Danny and the Governor, covering them with his own body, effectively knocking himself unconscious as he did so. Danny was going to kill him when they got out of this mess. Danny had made quick work of the rest of the goons, and was left with an unconscious Steve and the defenseless and hysterical Governor Mahoe of Hawaii. 

Now, Danny was carrying his injured partner out of this partially constructed complex the Governor had been touring that day, with her now-dead assistant and obviously criminally inclined project manager with Triad ties, to a more defensible position to wait for backup, because the bad guys he had just dispatched were most likely not without friends. With more gang members on their way any minute, Danny was getting desperate to find a place to hole up. He couldn’t keep Steve or the Governor safe if he was lugging his partner around on his back. 

To say this was a bad day was an epic understatement. 

He was just very glad the hysterical questions from the woman who was technically his boss had died into silence. He had enough on his plate from carrying Steve, he couldn’t find the extra breath to answer her questions when he didn’t have the answers. 

Just as he thought he would have no choice but to stop and put Steve down, he spotted the perfect hiding place. The building was about three-quarters of the way finished, a good six stories high. He was just hoping to get out of sight long enough to get good cover. He was going to be hard-pressed to protect both Steve and Governor Mahoe once their would-be kidnappers found out that their target was missing. Here’s hoping that Steve recovered enough to wake up and be of some help. 

Danny was not going to stand much of a chance in an all-out firefight with Steve slung across his shoulders. And there was no way in hell that Danny was going to leave him, so: hiding place, good cover. 

“Alright, this way,” he panted. He let out a long breath as the Governor blanched beside him.

“Here?”

Danny was certain he heard the ‘are you out of your mind?!’ she implied. He certainly knew that tone intimately, usually it was _him_ directing it _to_ the goof on his back. But they must be rubbing off on each other in more ways than one, because what came out of his mouth next was most certainly something Steve would have said. 

“I am _hoping_ that they won’t think that we would stick around,” he said, and her silence was full of unsaid doubts. “Steve is heavier than he looks, and you are not in the best position to defend yourself, so we need somewhere to be safe to rest and wait for backup. Without reliable cell reception, this is the best I’ve got. If I can lure them in, I can take them out without endangering you or Steve.”

She still looked doubtful, but seemed more inclined to believe him, now that she realized that he had a plan. Even if said plan wasn’t the best. At the moment, though, Danny didn’t care what the governor thought, as long as she listened to him. For all that she was important to this island, the man Danny held on his back was a huge part of his world, and he’d be damned if he didn’t go down fighting for him. Even if they didn’t show it often in front of others, he was in love with Steve, There was no way he was going to give Steve an out from spending the rest of his life with Danny. 

Danny maneuvered as gracefully and gently as he could through the doorway, his gun leading the way. He cursed under his breath as Steve’s head cleared the frame, but his freakishly long legs got tangled up, making him stumble and apologize to a partner who couldn’t hear him. He cleared the room with his eyes, and motioned the Governor through with a rough jerk of his head. 

He lead them up to what he thought would be the second, maybe third, floor, hoping to give them a tactical advantage of height. Make them work to get at them. He ducked into a small room, with partially finished walls, and tried to lay Steve out as carefully as I could. Danny hoped his injuries weren’t made worse by the trip on Danny’s shoulders or the rough landing to the floor. 

Danny checked Steve’s pulse, and peeled his eyelids back to check his pupils. Pulse good, pupils still uneven, Steve still out cold. Definitely a concussion. Danny straightened him out, hoping if Steve did wake up, he would be as comfortable as Danny could make him. He couldn’t help but linger a moment, cradling Steve’s head gently in his hands, smoothing his hair back off of his forehead. He cleared his throat, shaking himself free of the sappy feelings, leaning back on his heals. 

Now with both hands free, Danny also took Steve’s sig and tucked it into his waistband, going through the rest of the pockets of Steve’s cargo pants, liberating two knives as he went. He also found the pen he had been looking for that morning, the one he had been favoring the last few weeks. He should have known Steve had commandeered it, really, after spending half of the morning tearing apart his desk and complaining as he looked for it. The smirk should have tipped him off, not to mention all the distracting, playful kisses. 

Pulling out his cell phone, he thumbed the back light on and checked their reception again. Still no luck. Sighing, he slipped it back into his pocket and drew his own pistol. Catching the Governor’s eyes, he tried to convey a confidence he didn’t feel. 

“Alright,” Danny said, motioning back the way they came. “I’m going to check and make sure we weren’t followed and clear up anything we left behind that might let anyone know we are still here. I want to give us as much as an advantage as we can. Will you be alright here?”

Governor Mahoe visibly gathered herself, the dignity she had been lacking for the last few hours gathered about her countenance like armor. She nodded succinctly. 

“Be careful, Detective.”

Danny nodded, eyes catching once more on Steve, before making his way carefully and quietly out of the building. He felt like he was leaving a part of himself behind, terrified about leaving Steve so defenseless, but he didn’t have much choice. Hiding didn’t mean much if they were found because he had been careless in trying to get them out. He could risk leaving Steve alone for a few minutes if it meant directing the threat away altogether. 

Danny stayed as quiet as he could, stretching his senses to see or hear if they were being pursued. He thought he might have heard something in the distance, but when he had stood still and held his breath, all he heard was the wind and the distant noise of the road.

The problem Danny could see is that the construction site was mostly still bare: no dirt, no concrete or cement laid to erase how they came. While he didn’t think these particular thugs were smart, he wasn’t going to take any chances. Danny did his best to scuff over any tracks and leave as many confusing ones as he could. He didn’t want to spend too much time away from Steve, though, so he did it quickly and hoped for the best before heading back to their hiding place. 

All the while, Danny was trying to get a good feel of the place, pick out advantages, and look for ways to make it familiar and work in their favor. He wanted to get his bearings, too, in case he made contact with the rest of the team or HPD. Satisfied that he had done all that he could, be made his way back to Steve. 

Danny tried to telegraph to the Governor that it was him coming back, and other than her tight features and bunched fists, he thinks he managed. 

“How is Steve? Any change?”

She shook her head, settling back to sit in the dust on Steve’s far side. Danny could only sigh, shaking his head a little. 

“Well, here’s hoping his hard-headed ways come in handy,” he said, trying for levity. “Then we could get out of here with a lot less complications, if he wakes up.”

Governor Mahoe smiled, forced. It died a quick death. 

“I want to make sure that no one comes back looking for us. Once it’s clear, we can make our way out to the road. Hopefully the car is still there. If not, then good cell reception. Either way, staying put is our best option.”

She did not look like she agreed. Sure enough, she opened her mouth and let him know exactly what she thought of him and his plan. 

“I think we need to get back to Honolulu as soon as possible,” she commanded. Her chin was set, and she was biting the words out from behind clenched teeth. “Leave Commander McGarrett here, and we can send back up for him once you have returned me to safety.”

Danny felt his eyebrows climb up his forehead with each word. His blood pressure rose at the same time. He could not believe this woman. 

“Uh-uh,” he said, incredulously. “Do you really think that I would do something as fucked up as leave a member of my team behind?”

“Your priority should be my safety.”

“My priority is the safety of my team and our objective. The objective, in this case, is you, due to your breach in security protocol. I have considered all of the options, and this plan is the clearest way to maintain our safe return to Honolulu.” 

Danny clenched his jaw, considering his words carefully. They still came out forceful and furious. “I am the authority in this case. If you have objections, you can raise them when we _all_ arrive safely back to headquarters. Unless you have anything else useful to add, this is the plan.”

Mahoe opened her mouth to start in on him again, he was sure, but his ears piqued at an unusual noise. He held up a hand, the other coming up to make a shushing sign with one finger as he listened _hard._ Her lips formed into a tight, white line. Hearing it again, he motioned her to stay put and stay quiet. 

 

Danny pulled his gun and crept out of the room. A scuff and a metallic sound came, followed by a voice muttering a curse. Twilight had fallen, casting long shadows that Danny hoped would give him the advantage. 

Danny heard more movement coming from the floor below. The same voice spoke again, this time into what had to be a radio. “Fong, they’re not here.”

The radio crackled, and another voice returned, sounding put upon. “Nothing over here, either. This is the biggest waste of time.”

The footsteps carried to the stairs and started up them. “What kind of idiot would hide out in here?” the schmuck mumbled, before muttering back into the radio. “The have to be back at the Palace by now, no way they are still here.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” the radio hissed back. “Finish up that rise and meet me around the back, then we’ll head back.”

“Gotcha.” The guy made it to the top of the stairs on their floor, and was starting his sweep.

Fuck, this was not good. Danny tried to find relief that they had only sent two guys in after them, but it still left them in the open with at least one guy, right on top of them. Maybe, by overestimating them and their ability to get away, (not an overestimation, just an injured Super SEAL) they may have given them more of an advantage. Maybe the Triad was just covering their bases and only sending a few men. 

Danny mentally shrugged, he didn’t really care. Either way, he was going to have to deal with it if he had any hope of getting Steve and the Governor to safety.

Pulling one of Steve’s knives from its sheath, he hoped to take out this guy quickly and quietly. Then, take out the other guy. Maybe it would buy them enough time to get back to the relative safety of headquarters. 

He forced himself to stay as still as possible, trying to infuse every bit of Steve into his movements as he could. He only had one shot at this. The falling darkness gave him an advantage, made the guy’s visibility of Danny an asset, and extra weapon to use against the enemy. Danny watched as he lackadaisically looked about. Danny’s every sense was tuned into the target. 

Unfortunately, he should have remembered Mahoe. She was staring straight at Danny, trying to read his movements and essentially gave the guy just enough warning as he got to the doorway, that all of Danny’s surprise was gone. He had his gun at the ready. Danny had to move fast to get in close, out of the range of the pistol, and force him to react. 

Danny grabbed the gun, pulling them around as they grappled, wanting to keep Steve and the Governor out of the line of fire. The guy was easily a foot taller and fifty pounds heavier than Danny, making every move and hit an enormous effort. Danny had lost his surprise, but he was damned if he’d let this guy get the best of him to hurt Steve. 

The guy fought hard, bringing the gun around towards Danny. It went off, just as Danny slid the knife home under his breastbone, the only point of leverage that he had. Danny held on, refusing to give at all, even as he felt the bullet hit just below his vest. He grunted at the explosion of pain, but he just shoved the knife in harder. All he could think of was Steve, and how helpless he would be if Danny went down now. He wasn’t going to let up now, not until he knew Steve was safe. 

He always knew that Steve would be the death of him. He hadn’t imagined it would play out quite like this, though. If he had to go now, though, he was happy it was for Steve. It was his job to keep his family safe. And he couldn’t have a family without Steve. Danny took a deep breath, pushing the pain back, and shoved the knife in harder. 

The guy took a wet, gasping gurgle of a breath, before staggering sideways. Danny tried to guide the guy down, away from landing on top of Steve, but just managed to get the full brunt of him, sprawling them out, Danny under three hundred pounds of Triad gang-banger. 

Danny could only lay there and gasp in pain for a few long moments. They sounded loud in the small room. Fuck. Getting his wits back, Danny knew there was no way that Fong would have missed that gunshot. He shoved the guy off of him, and pushed himself to lean against the wall and put pressure on his very much leaking gunshot wound. He spared a glance down, and realized his second favorite pair of slacks were now beyond redemption, blood spreading and soaking into the fabric. 

“Shit,” he muttered, before getting cut off by a burst of static filling the room again. Danny and Governor Mahoe locked eyes, before Danny tried to think as quickly as he could. Her eyes were huge in her face, any confidence she had regained by resting, was gone. Reaching for the radio, he brought it up and grumbled “fucking rats!” into the radio in his best surly-with-island-flavor voice he could. 

Danny was hanging all of their lives right now on the facts that one: both of these guys were idiots, and two: the radio masked how different his voice sounded from the now dead Triad. 

“Fucking _lolo,_ ” Fong snarled down the line. “Only you would be stupid enough to try and shoot a rat! Finish the hell up and get back here!”

Danny managed to grumble something back down the line, grateful for the small reprieve. He sagged against the wall, giggling a little hysterically. 

Danny had to pull himself together. It didn’t seem like Fong was coming to investigate, so Danny had a few minutes to gather his wits. For a short minute, a small part of him wanted to just call it a day. This was going down as one of the worst in his Five - O tenure. Danny gazed over at Steve, so still in the falling darkness. Danny wasn’t going to let Steve down now, not after carrying him all this way. Not after years of watching his back, and them having grown closer than he had ever been with someone. 

Taking a deep breath, he took off his tact vest to take off his shirt, leaving him in his undershirt. Using Steve’s knife, he cut the bottom off of his shirt, just below the sleeves, using it to pack his wound before bringing his sleeves around his waist. This is when the Governor decided to finally make herself useful, taking the sleeves and tying it as tight as she could. 

She had seemed a little shell-shocked while Danny had his impromptu conversation with their dead guy’s companion, but she appeared as if she had fortified herself again. She still looked a concerned, her hands out to steady him as Danny got his feet under him. He swayed a bit and he hoped as hell that the bullet had missed anything vital. It was a through and through, but that wouldn’t matter if he bled out before they got help. 

And that was the kicker: There was no way he was going to be able to carry Steve out of here now. But, maybe he could make it so that they could just wait for help to get there. 

As long as he didn’t bleed to death first. 

Looking around, Danny figured as long as stayed put, and Fong didn’t find them, they would be able to be found by their team and the wonderful GPS tracking on their phones, signal or no. The glaring problem starring Danny in the face was the dead guy. This dead guy still had friends. Friends in the area. Eventually, they were going to come looking. 

Danny turned the idea that was forming in his head over a few times. It was a very McGarrett idea. Crazy, absolutely out-of-his-mind nuts, but it just might work. This Fong character had no problem believing the rat story, so maybe…

Mahoe was looking at him carefully. He turned to her, weighing his words, knowing that this was insane. 

“You aren’t going to like this,” he started, hissing out a breath when turned to face her. “I have an idea to keep Fong off our trail, but I don’t think this is entirely ethical.”

She pursed her lips, folding her arms across her chest. 

“At this point, Detective, I’m not sure that matters, but why don’t you explain it to me.”

Danny nodded. “If we shove some of that rebar into him and push him down the empty elevator shaft, it could look like he accidentally fell to his death. These two make it seem like that’s plausible. By doing that, we can direct attention away from us, giving us enough time to wait for full nightfall to get out of here, for H.Q. to have tracked us and found us, or for Steve to recover enough to help us get out of here.”

Looking at the darkening sky and the dead man on the floor, the Governor slowly nodded. 

“Alright Detective. It’s not a great idea, but I don’t have anything better. What do you need me to do?” 

Quickly, Danny shoved the rebar into the knife wound. Working with the governor, they slid the man to the shaft before tipping him over the ledge. Danny shouted with pain as they did, but they had planned something like it, to bring Fong over to investigate. Their bait hit the floor with a sickening crackle, causing them both to wince and shudder, Danny hissing out in pain as he got back to his feet with the governor’s help. 

They shuffled back from the ledge, hurrying to the window. Danny took steadied himself on the framed out window, thankful that the glass hadn’t been installed yet. Taking aim, the governor his silent shadow beside him, keeping him from falling in a heap, he measured his breathing staying as still as possible.

It didn’t take Fong long to show. He was walking cautiously, pistol drawn, checking the darkened building cautiously as he called softly for his partner. 

Danny breathed out and pulled the trigger. Fong went down without a sound, a neat hole in his chest. Danny sagged against the window, head hanging low as he panted. Shit, what an awful day. 

Mahoe helped him shuffle back to Steve, where he collapsed against the wall and lost his battle against consciousness, the concerned eyes of the Governor the last thing he saw for a while. 

The funny thing about adrenaline was that it made Danny so hot. Normally, he was a smoldering fire, then the adrenaline was the lighter fluid that exploded through him when the situation called for it. It made their post case rendezvous even more intense. It also meant, when it was gone, he was all burnt out. Now that he had used that adrenaline, he knew this was it, he was down for a while. 

Burning out now coupled with blood loss left Danny with a nasty cocktail called shock. Danny came back to consciousness with a hard shiver and low voices talking over him. A wide, warm hand rested on his shoulder, thumb idly sweeping back and forth over the skin. 

Steve, Danny registered, vaguely. Steve was okay. The tightness in his chest gave way, a sort of ‘oh thank _God_ ” kind of a feeling and a deep, satisfied understanding that everything was going to be alright now. Danny almost let that feeling pull him back under, but Steve’s voice cut through the warmth, bringing him back with a jolt. 

“Danny? Danno? You with me?”

His voice was pitched low, soothing. Danny squinted his eyes up at Steve, noticing it was very dark now, and he wondered how long he was out. 

“Danno?” Steve prompted again, squeezing Danny’s shoulder. 

Danny cleared his throat. He felt like his tongue was too thick to fit behind his teeth, and his throat clicked as he tried to swallow. 

“Yeah, Babe.” It slipped out on an exhale, hoarse and rough. Steve’s answering, tight lipped smile was worth it, though. “You okay?”

Steve only shook his head, losing his smile. “Just a little knock on the head, Danno. You’re the one who was shot.” He exchanged glances with Mahoe, who Danny had honestly forgotten about. 

“The Governor filled me in,” he began. “We need to get to some help. Think you’re up for it?”

Danny thought that he was probably the farthest thing from up for anything at this point, but he simply nodded. No point in arguing, they needed to get out of here. 

Steve looked over him in concern, his heart in his eyes, but seemed to take him at face value, rather than push anything at the moment. Danny drifted then, losing the conversation until his name brought him back around. 

“...okay, Danny?” Steve asked. Danny reflexively nodded, trying to catch back up. Steve rolled his eyes a bit, grin tugging at his mouth. “You didn’t get that at all, did you?”

Danny made a face and Steve huffed out a laugh. “I’m going to go ahead a bit, clear the area. The Governor will be with you, just behind, okay?”

Danny nodded, and prepared himself to stand up. This was going to hurt like hell. 

Steve slipped his arm around his shoulders and helped him sit up. Danny held his breath until he was up-right, then it whooshed out with a groan. Shit, that hurt. “Steve, you may have to - “

“No way in hell, Danny,” Steve cut him off with a growl. It distracted Danny enough that he was on his feet before he knew it. Danny sagged against Steve while the room spun and the pain settled enough that he could breathe again. The Governor was right with him, already slipping under Danny’s arm and settling her arm around his waist. They were about the same height, so this worked out alright so far. 

Steve ducked down to look into Danny’s face. “Come on, Danno, counting on that stubbornness to help get us home.”

Danny nodded. He was as ready as he would ever be. Steve swooped in and kissed his temple before he eased away, and after Danny didn’t fall on his face, he turned, drew is gun, and headed out into the night. Danny and the Governor followed in his wake. 

They were quiet until the made it out of the building, then out of the work site all together. Tramping up the dirt road, Danny just focused on putting one foot in front of the other. He vaguely saw that someone, probably Steve, had moved Fong from where he had fallen and had laid the other guy out next to him. It was a brief distraction, before just walking and breathing took all of Danny’s willpower and concentration. 

“Commander McGarrett was very worried about you.”

Danny startled at the sound of the Governor’s voice. When he didn’t reply, the Governor explained. 

“When he woke up, he wanted to know what had happened,” she said. “He was _quite_ insistent.” 

Danny grinned a little at that. Yeah, some call Danny stubborn, but his partner had it just as bad.

“He couldn’t work out how you got shot,” she continued. “He said that ‘the Danny Williams he knew wouldn’t make that kind of mistake.’ He asked many questions before telling me that you had allowed that man to shoot you. To keep us from getting hurt. Is this true?”

Danny blinked into the darkness with surprise. Several things stood out, but first and loudest was Steve’s staunch belief in him. Danny tracked Steve’s back in the gloom, a smile crinkling his eyes with love for him. Damn, Steve. 

Danny looked back down at the Governor, catching her watching him. She had a sort of awed look in her eyes. That wasn’t quite right, but Danny couldn’t catalog it at the moment. Shaking his head a bit, he replied a little ruefully. “Well, I didn’t exactly mean to get some new holes.”

She fixed him with a look. The very same look he’s gotten from his mother. He wilted even more under that look.

“Of course I wasn’t going to let you get hurt,” he said, eyes sliding back to Steve’s back. “Even if it meant opening myself up for injury.” He turned back to her, just in time to see her look turn even more knowing. She smiled at him. 

“Well, you have my thanks, Detective.”

Danny nodded. They had started down an incline to the main road now, and every step was pulling at the wound in his side. Things started to fade then, and Danny vaguely realized that he had started bleeding again. Danny took a step, and then just, lost his legs. He was down in the dirt, flat on his back looking at the stars, before he could even grasp that he was falling. 

“Detective!” The Governor yelped, trying to ease his sprawl. Her shout had Steve sprinting back to them, falling to his knees next to Danny. Steve took in the situation at a glance, and even though he was sure that he was bleeding out, he felt good knowing that at least Steve was there. 

Steve sprung into immediate action. He quickly unbuckled Danny’s belt and pulled it through the loops before threading around Danny’s waist. He paused, probably catching Danny’s baffled expression. 

“We need to get the bleeding stopped again,” he said. He looked firmly at Danny. “This is going to hurt.” Without giving Danny any time, he clinched the belt tight over Danny’s shirt-turned-bandage. Goddammit to hell, he was right. It hurt like a mother fucker. Danny gasped and kept at it, trying to pant through the pain and blink away the dark creeping over his vision. Getting enough breath back, Danny tried to reason with Steve again. 

“Steve. I - maybe you should - “ Danny watched Steve freeze and glare at him. 

“No, Danny,” Steve spat furiously at him. “I am not leaving you here, so just shut up about it.” Then he kissed Danny, probably to keep him from protesting any further.

Danny didn’t try to form a reply. It wouldn’t have done any good, anyway. When Steve seemed satisfied that he had done all he could at the time, he sat back on his heels again, and pulled out his phone. Cursing at the no service message he got, Steve got his arm under Danny’s legs and around his back, and just lifted him up like it was nothing. 

Danny gaped at him, before weakly hitting him in the chest. “No fair, babe.”

Steve just glowered before biting out, “Let’s just get the hell out of here. Don’t you dare die on me, Danno.”

Danny nodded before losing the fight with awareness for a while, laying his head down on that sturdy chest. 

He came around for a minute, the sharp sound of Steve yelling into his cell phone jarring him into reality. He thought he gasped Steve’s name, the pain all encompassing, but he was gone before he knew if he had gotten a reply or not. 

The next he knew, the blades of a helicopter were displacing the air around him as he was loaded into it. The Governor settled beside him, holding tight to the rescue basket he was strapped to and the seat beside him. Danny saw a flurry of motion from the cockpit, and saw Steve switching places with Chin. 

Danny locked eyes with Chin, jerking his head a little at an attempt at a nod. Chin reacted fast, hovering over Danny in the space of a few seconds. To Danny, it seemed like he had teleported. 

“Danny?”

The chopper lifted off and Chin braced his hand on the back of Steve’s seat to get a good look at Danny. Steve caught the motion, and peered over his shoulder.

“He awake?”

“Yeah, Steve,” Chin brushed Danny’s hair back from his face. “How are you doing, Danny?”

Danny just smiled a bit. Better, now that they were on their way to a hospital. He didn’t try to speak, though. Just breathing agonized him enough. Danny glanced over at Mahoe, relieved to see she was doing alright.

“Alright, Ma’am?” Danny croaked. 

“Yes, Detective Williams. I believe we are now.”

Danny grinned, and finally, let himself fall back into the arms of darkness. 

When Danny woke next, it was to the muted colors and sterile smell of the hospital. And though he felt much better than the last time he was conscious, he still felt heavy and groggy. He took stock of himself, feeling the pressure on his abdomen, probably from bandages and surgery, noted the IV in his hand. Also took in the fact that said hand was held lightly by a larger, tanner one. 

Steve didn’t do anything by half. He was out cold, snoring these whiffing snores, head lolled back against the chair. He had butterfly bandages on his face from the grenade that had tossed him about, and just above his left ear, his hair was shaved to show a neat line of stitches. His hand was secure around Danny’s, and Danny couldn’t help let out a found huff of affectionate laughter. 

That huff was enough to rouse Steve, and he lifted his head to take in Danny. He smiled when he saw him awake, leaning forward. He didn’t let go of Danny’s hand. 

“Hey,” he said softly. 

“Hi.”

Danny couldn’t help feel a little bit shy, with the way that Steve was holding his hand and looking at him so intently. It felt like they are the only two people in the world in that moment. 

“You scared the hell out of me, Danny.” Steve’s hand tightened around Danny’s and he was all serious super-SEAL. The rest of his face didn’t let on, but Danny knew his partner. And Steve was terrified. Danny could only stare at Steve, not quite sure how to respond. Even after the liver transplant and everything else that they had been through, Steve didn’t look like this that often. Danny didn’t understand why this time it was so different, but for Steve, it obviously was. 

After a long moment, Steve reached out his free hand and brushed Danny’s hair back off his forehead. 

“What you did…” Steve started, before trailing off, mouth twisting around his words. 

“I - I couldn’t,” Danny said, after the moment started to turn too long. “I wasn’t going to let anything happen to you. Same as what you did for me?”

Steve smiled, then. Nodding, he cupped his hand around Danny’s face, leaning over him, searching Danny’s eyes. He smoothed his thumb along Danny’s cheek. 

“You’re always there for me,” he murmured. “You know, I’ll be here for you, too? Partners, always?”

Danny nodded, reaching up to haul Steve in closer by his shirt front. Lifting his chin up, Danny closed the distance, and kissed Steve like he had been wanting to for an eternity. The kiss didn’t last long though, their smiles were too big. 


End file.
